Jump to content

8/9 at KC Royals


flavum

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 168
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Huge break for the White Sox. Rios was on first, Orlando killed a double into the gap, Rios would have scored easily but ball bounced over the fence.

 

I always think the umps should use some judgment on that play & give the guy home if he'd clearly score, IIRC the rule book does allow that. Anywho.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know if there's a stat to show this but I feel like Petricka does better when he comes into the game with runners on than when he leads off the inning himself. His OPS is about 100 points lower with RISP than with the bases empty, that's about as close as I can get.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 9, 2015 -> 02:45 PM)
Yes but most hitters today are taking the same hacks on 3-2 as any count. Again, it's not just Eaton, whom I'm not a big fan of, but it's a disease in baseball today. Many (most) hitters swing from their heels with two strikes. Pete Rose was talking about that. It's macho s***.

 

Greg,

 

1. I don't care about most hitters. Adam Eaton was paid to be an elite lead-off hitter on a team with Championship aspirations. I hold him to that standard.

 

2. In a steroid Era, the teams that win are the ones who put up a lot of what's known as "crooked numbers". Lead-off hitter is arguably the most important hitter -- not just to start games off, but in every INNING -- that is, if you want to amass this quaint little thing called "a rally". Most pitchers hate lead-off hitter reaching base, doesn't matter if its via a rocket to LF, or a bleeder through the right side or via the HBP.

 

If nothing else, defense has to come on, which opens up a big hole esp. on the Right side of the infield. Suddenly the next batter hitting a weak grounder, and instead of 2 out, noone on, you've got 1st/3rd, no outs and the pitching coach sweating..... On top of that, when someone who is as fast and as aggressive as Eaton is on base to distract the pitcher, the latter's mechanics and focus can sometimes go to crap -- which leads to, say, an overthrown breaking ball hang over the heart of the plate. Before you know it, you got a 3-run HR.

 

3. a 3-2 count is in some ways more difficult to hit in than 2-2 count. At 2-2, someone like Eaton knows he needs to protect the plate, it removes any kind of "thinking". Whereas on 3-2, Eaton is conflicted. On the one hand, he loves to hit HR. On the other, he is so close to taking a Walk and being in a position where he can show off his speed on the pads. "What's a Spanky to do!". haha.

 

So on 3-2, sometimes you will see a hitter hesitate if only momentarily -- and in a sport where 50 milliseconds are everything, that barely perceptible motor delay, is enough for a hitter to jam himself on a borderline fastball.

 

Incidentally, this is why the elite pitchers seem to have an ability to handle 3-ball counts better than their peers. They just throw a sinker or a cutter on the corner, and since the hitter is a hair too hesitant and yet doesn't want to take Strike-3 looking.... the batter will basically jam himself.

 

Bottomline, Spanky needs to be on base 40% of the time and shrink his stike zone as much as possible with 2 strikes. His OBP is disproportionately important to Sox success during any kind of winning streak, it's not a coincidence. Yes, Adam Eaten had a reputation in Arizona system as being able to put on a HR show in batting-practice for such a seemingly small guy, but in real games, in a pennant race, I don't give a crap about his predilections.

 

Just get on da base, Adam. duuuh derpity mcDerp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...